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In the Cards

Active Internet users who said yes to online solicitations by
credit-card issuers are younger on average than Internet users
overall, 35.6 years vs. 38.1 years. This suggests, says Bruce
Brittain, president of Brittain Associates, that card issuers
haven't identified younger potential customers quite as
comprehensively as they have older prospects. As a result, younger
people have sought out credit cards online rather than responding
to offers they get in the mailbox.

Although card issuers say many online applications are submitted
by people who are completely uncreditworthy, the online market
overall appears to be bringing in solid business. In a study of 700
Internet users, the average income of people who acquired an online
marketed card was $56,315 vs. $54,833 for average active Internet
users. People who signed up for a card online were more likely to
be white (81 percent vs. 75 percent), and more likely to live on
the West Coast: 26 percent of those who signed up for a card online
live in California, Oregon, or Washington, compared with 21 percent
of other active Net users.

"The 1999 Credit Cards on the Internet Report" also found that
Americans spent more than $6.5 billion in online purchases during
the 1998 holiday season, with more than 90 percent charged on
credit cards. About half of all online shoppers say they use a
single card online.

Favorite issuers for online purchasing included the biggest
names in the business: First USA was used 25 percent of the
survey's 189 respondents; American Express, 16 percent; Citibank,
13 percent; and Discover, 9 percent.